On Tuesday afternoon, Sean Duffy was confirmed as President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Transportation, which Ward Clark at our sister site of RedState fittingly referred to as an "UPGRADE" over former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg under the Biden administration. The vote was 77-22, so Duffy was easily confirmed, though this was a slight change from the cloture vote from Monday night in the Senate of 97-0. He's the fifth of Trump's picks to be confirmed.
All 53 Republican senators voted in favor of Duffy's nomination, as did 23 Democrats, including Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a fellow Wisconsinite who also introduced the new secretary during his confirmation hearing earlier this month.
Among those "no" votes included Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) did not vote.
So, what changed from Monday night to Tuesday afternoon? Democrats were reportedly irked by a memo from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Tuesday morning that paused federal grants and loans, as Chad Pergram shared over X and his reports.
Senate votes to confirm Sean Duffy as Transportation Secretary, 77-22. Yesterday, the Senate cleared a filibuster on Duffy yesterday 97-0. But Fox is told some Dems voted nay in protest of the OMB memo to withhold/suspend federal funds.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 28, 2025
3 challenging confirmations coming up. And why some Dems bolted from confirming Sean Duffy as Transportation Secretary after the Trump Admin suspension of grants/loans. My report: https://t.co/IHm7aI7g2R
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 28, 2025
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As streiff, also writing for our sister site of RedState, highlighted, this is a "temporary pause" and is pending "a thorough agency review" for compliance. It also refers to Trump's executive orders as authority for doing so.
"To implement these orders, each agency must complete a comprehensive analysis of all of their Federal financial assistance programs to identify programs, projects, and activities that maybe implicated by any of the President’s executive orders. In the interim, to the extent permissible under applicable law, Federal agencies must temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities that may be implicated by the executive orders, including, but not limited to, financial assistance for foreign aid, nongovernmental organizations, DEI, woke gender ideology, and the green new deal," the memo mentions.
As streiff also pointed out, such a memo "does not affect Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, student loans and grants, or social safety net payments to individuals, though some leftist politicians will undoubtedly make that claim."
Duffy isn't even in charge of OMB, as that would be Russ Vought, should he be confirmed. Make no mistake, though, Democrats are also ranting and raving against Vought, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) chief among them.
Schumer on OMB memo:
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 28, 2025
Any Republican who votes for Russell Vought will have this weight on their shoulders
As Pergram alluded to, there are more confirmation votes ahead that could potentially be more challenging, not only for Vought, but also for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for Secretary of Health & Human Services and former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) to serve as the Director of National Intelligence.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), however, has warned that the chamber is "going to continue to grind and grind and grind" and they're willing to "do that through the weekend if necessary."
Thune on Democrats on nominations:
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) January 28, 2025
They can do this the hard way or the easy way. We’re going to continue to grind and grind and grind. And we’ll do that through the weekend if necessary
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